Main Line Engines
Main Line Engines is the 21st book of the Railway Series . It was written by Rev.W. Awdry and illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards. Stories The Diseasel Bill and Ben are tank engine twins who work at the China Clay Works on Edward's Branchline. One day, the twins shunt trucks into a siding, and go away for more, only to find the trucks they have shunted gone! Their drivers confirm that a 'diseasel' took them. Bill recalls a sign in the twins' shed saying 'coughs and sneezles spread diseasels' and Ben blames Bill for the diseasel's arrival. Their drivers calm the two down, and work on a plan. Soon they see the diseasel on a siding and cause him great confusion (and giddness). Then Edward arrives. He scolds the twins and sends them off to work, once the twins had said sorry to the diseasel, who calls himself BoCo. Edward and BoCo then joke about the twins. Buzz, Buzz Duck meets BoCo and is wary at first, but is friendlier when he finds out that BoCo knows Edward. BoCo and Duck talk about Bill and Ben, when Duck tells BoCo that he has nicknamed them 'The Bees.' James turns up, and retorts if any bees went near him, he will blow smoke to make them go away. Later, James is to pull the Express, when two porters rush past with a trolley, which contained a beehive. The beehive, unfortunatly, falls off and an army of bees swarm out, on a mission to get warm. One bee burns his feet landing on James' smokebox- and stings James' nose! James makes a beelinom, leaving the Express behind. In the end, BoCo takes it, and that night, the other engines talk about a red beehive on wheels. Wrong Road Engines like Gordon and Henry cannot travel on branchlines because of their weight. However, Gordon thinks that branchlines are off limits because they are 'vulgar' and gets ready for his evening train. However, disaster strikes- in the form of a lady wearing a floppy green hat saying goodbye to a friend. The fireman thinks that the guard waved his flag. Gordon leaves too quickly but is soon brought back. Eventually, the mix up is sorted when Edward leaves first. But, as the saying goes, "it never rains, it pours" when the signalman isn't informed of the new arrangements so Edward goes on the mainline, and Gordon ends up on the branchline. He is forced to spend the night in a siding. In the morning, Bill and Ben arrive and tease Gordon by "mistaking" him for scrap. They argue over how it should be disposed of, with Bill in favor of the scrapyard whilst Ben prefers to dump it into the sea. Gordon doesn't realise the twins are joking, so when BoCo arrives, Gordon begs for help. BoCo sends the twins away with their trucks, and Gordon has since changed his opinion on diesels. Edward's Exploit Some enthusiasts go to visit the China Clay Works. Bill and Ben are pleased about this, but when they have to leave, bad weather strikes. Edward is struggling home with the heavy train when one of his crankpins break, damaging his frames and splashers. His crew remove both crankpins and siderods, and Edward starts again. Soon, a tired, damaged but undefeatable Edward arrives home late but the passengers thank him, his driver and fireman before boarding Henry's train. Edward is sent away to the Works, and BoCo runs his branchline and single handedly changes Donald and Douglas's opinion about diesels! Category:Railway Series Books